ew Re: American Express SECURED card offer !

Few years ago they used to have optima card offered as secured card and later they cancelled it. One way it is good to build relationship with amex but I would put that money and get a secured card with local credit union.

Re: American Express SECURED card offer !

I applied for an Amex Green in June 2010 and was denied due to an old BK Chapter 13 that was appearing on the Teletrack. I got a copy of my report which showed the BK reporting. It was discharged in 4/2008 and was removed from all the CRAs in May 2010, but Teletrack says they will report public records for the full 10 years instead of the 7 years that the big 3 CRAs report. Bummer.

$10K security for the gold card? ridiculous! No card should require security (one may argue wealth management accounts requiring minimum balances act as quasi security for certain cards), let alone the gold card for $10K. It's a great deal for amex though, as you would essentially be paying them (through the AF) to take your deposits.

** just a quick edit ** we just got the paper response as to why her app was rejected; it states, "Information reflected in a report obtained from Teletrack consumer reporting agency."

My wife had recently received a "Pre-Selected" offer for an American Express Premier Rewards gold card. She applied and was denied. Yesterday, she received a call from American Express 1-866-929-5161 offering her the same card if she was willing to put $10,000 in a CD with American Express Centurion bank for a period of 1 year. She was told that her card would function exactly like a charge card, where she would pay back the charges in full each month, have the same rewards etc., but have a hard limit of $10,000 secured by her CD. After one year, Amex would review the account to unsecure tha card.

Well, i guess its official - Amex does have SECURED cards !!!

If I have 10K "just laying around," I wuold use it on something else. But nice to know Amex is offering this option for some people.

This is ridiculous, 10K for a crappy 1%ish interest rate. Invest your money where you can get a better return rater than an Amex card. I have an Amex, citi, discover, chase, etc credit card. Nothing make the Amex more special than the other cards. As a matter of fact, Amex had denied me some transactions while in store when the so called limit is unlimited. I don't get the myth behind having an Amex. It's not a privilege at all, it's debt. I really don't get it.

This is ridiculous, 10K for a crappy 1%ish interest rate. Invest your money where you can get a better return rater than an Amex card. I have an Amex, citi, discover, chase, etc credit card. Nothing make the Amex more special than the other cards. As a matter of fact, Amex had denied me some transactions while in store when the so called limit is unlimited. I don't get the myth behind having an Amex. It's not a privilege at all, it's debt. I really don't get it.

This is ridiculous, 10K for a crappy 1%ish interest rate. Invest your money where you can get a better return rater than an Amex card. I have an Amex, citi, discover, chase, etc credit card. Nothing make the Amex more special than the other cards. As a matter of fact, Amex had denied me some transactions while in store when the so called limit is unlimited. I don't get the myth behind having an Amex. It's not a privilege at all, it's debt. I really don't get it.

It's true! It's the imlication of prestige that makes it "worth it." AmEx has always been such a valuable brand that people clamor for it because it used to denote a particular status. I just don't think AmEx carries the prestige it used to. And actually, I don't think prestige manifested by a charge card is prestige at all anymore. Nobody ever carried my groceries to the car because I swiped a Platinum Card at Von's.

True, a prestige card might make you "fit in" at the George V in Paris, but chances are that if you can spend $4,000 a night on a hotel room, you could pay with euro coins from a sock and get excellent service.

Yes, the airport lounges are cool. All of the AmEx benefits (extended warranties, purchase protection, etc.) are nice, but most people never use them, which is why AmEx can afford to offer them.

But when you weigh the archaic "prestige" of an AmEx against the "will this transaction be approved because my account DOES have a credit limit, I just don't know it;" "will they want to financial review me;" "will they close my account because my utilization is high this month because I forgot to pay BEFORE MY STATEMENT EVEN PRINTED (what!?)," I'm not so sure it's worth it.

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IMPORTANT INFORMATION: All FICO® Score products made available on myFICO.com include a FICO® Score 8, along with additional FICO® Score versions. Your lender or insurer may use a different FICO® Score than the versions you receive from myFICO, or another type of credit score altogether. Learn more

FICO, myFICO, Score Watch, The score lenders use, and The Score That Matters are trademarks or registered trademarks of Fair Isaac Corporation. Equifax Credit Report is a trademark of Equifax, Inc. and its affiliated companies. Many factors affect your FICO Score and the interest rates you may receive. Fair Isaac is not a credit repair organization as defined under federal or state law, including the Credit Repair Organizations Act. Fair Isaac does not provide "credit repair" services or advice or assistance regarding "rebuilding" or "improving" your credit record, credit history or credit rating. FTC's website on credit.